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General Putnam's Men


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Anyone remember General Putnam's Men? We were a small drum & bugle corp from Ottawa Ohio. The corp started out as an all boy's corp but eventually added girls due to small numbers. I marched for 6-7 years and had the time of my life. We were never competitive with the top corps but worked hard and had a great time. The director/founder was Brice Musser, OD of Ottawa. Now when I look back I'm amazed at what he did with a very small budget. I don't think we realized at the time how much of his own money was spent on keeping the corp on the field. Thanks Brice!

I posted a 6 minute video of our show on youtube. I hope everyone enjoys.

General Putnam's Men was founded in the spring of 1975 by Dr. Brice Musser. The corps was established in Ottawa, Ohio, which is in Putnam county. The county and corp were named after Revolutionary War general, Israel Putnam. Gong with that theme and with the approach of the bicentennial, the corps uniforms were based on colonial costumes; knickers and vests with tri-corner hats.

In the beginning the corps took boys with little or no training and completely taught them. The corps first year was spent as a parade unit. In 1976 they began competing in class A. In 1978 they added girls to the corps.

The corps traveled and competed primarily in Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario. In 1979 the corps made class A finals at the U.S. Open, the highest achievement of the corps at the time. In 1980, the corps traveled to New York state to complete in Drum Corps East. In 1981 the corps made its only appearance at DCI finals week placing 12 in class A.

In the spring of 1982, due to financial considerations, the director and staff made the difficult decision not to continue the corps.

Shawn C. McDowell (11/30/2004)

Contra, 79

Staff member, 80 and 81

Edited by GPM
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Thanks! It might have been around 81 when the corp folded? I know, it's terrible that I don't remember. :( I think I was a freshman in High School. I'll try to find out for sure.

Folded in the late 70s? You show grounded pit instruments...

Nice playing! You sound like that, with double the number of horns you could have made a run at finals -

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It looks like that show was the 1981 Key To The Sea show, based on what I can make out from the back-field banner. I believe that was Glassmen's show, held in Toledo, OH. I remember competing against GPM back in the mid '70s...they were one of our rivals!

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We were never competitive with the top corps but worked hard and had a great time.

Hear, hear. There are folks here on the forum who enjoyed the good fortune to have marched in one, or many, finals competitions, or to have won it all, or to have taken high this, that or the other - and all due respect to them for their accomplishments and the amazing ride that was their visit to the pantheon.

But for the thousands of kids who played out their drum corps careers in the obscurity of the lower tiers and, for whatever reason, never had the chance to grab the brass ring, GPM's simple statement speaks volumes. To have worked hard and had a great time in the process is a most worthy accomplishment, at any level of achievement, in any field of endeavor.

Peace,

Fred O.

Edited by drumno5
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Yes, General Putnam's Men was on the field for the 1976 through 1981 seasons.

corpsresps says General Putnam's Men fielded in 1977, their facebook page says Spring of 1975. I aged out in 74 and worked with our corps in 1975. I recall seeing them in a show and was concerned that they could beat us (Glassmen). I am inclined to believe they were on the field in 1975.

BTW what corps didn't play "Big Spender" in the 60's or 70's, I know we did in the late 60's.

The video was pretty representative of a smaller corps in that era, playing fairly recognizable pieces and working hard to entertain the audience. It was more simple then but more fun.

So who was General Putnam?

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corpsresps says General Putnam's Men fielded in 1977, their facebook page says Spring of 1975. I aged out in 74 and worked with our corps in 1975. I recall seeing them in a show and was concerned that they could beat us (Glassmen). I am inclined to believe they were on the field in 1975.

BTW what corps didn't play "Big Spender" in the 60's or 70's, I know we did in the late 60's.

The video was pretty representative of a smaller corps in that era, playing fairly recognizable pieces and working hard to entertain the audience. It was more simple then but more fun.

So who was General Putnam?

Our corps has a Face Book page. We folded before Memorial Day in '82.

Dale Riebesehl

GPM Contrabass '81

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Anyone remember General Putnam's Men? We were a small drum & bugle corp from Ottawa Ohio. The corp started out as an all boy's corp but eventually added girls due to small numbers. I marched for 6-7 years and had the time of my life. We were never competitive with the top corps but worked hard and had a great time. The director/founder was Brice Musser, OD of Ottawa. Now when I look back I'm amazed at what he did with a very small budget. I don't think we realized at the time how much of his own money was spent on keeping the corp on the field. Thanks Brice! The corp folded in 1978-79.

I posted a 6 minute video of our show on youtube. I hope everyone enjoys.

That's '81. You can tell from the opener "Carnival Overture" and the DM uniform. Thanks for posting (I had asked for a video of this show a few posts below).

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